Karmic Pictures follows a special group of students at El Monte High School in Los Angeles who are the recipients of a government program called Gear Up.  

Gear Up is designed to help our nation's struggling high school students effectively prepare for post-secondary education.  The students of El Monte's Gear Up program tell us about their experiences prepping for college as well as thier difficulties in dealing with peer demoralization and how they were able to rise above the statistics stacked against them.